Objects of My Affection

By: Jill Smolinski

Narrated by: Xe Sands

Length: 10 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's summary

In the humorous, heartfelt new novel by the author of The Next Thing on My List, a personal organizer must somehow convince a reclusive artist to give up her hoarding ways and let go of the stuff she’s hung onto for decades.

Lucy Bloom is broke, has been dumped by her boyfriend, and had to sell her house to send her 19-year-old son to drug rehab. Although she’s lost it all, she’s determined to start over. So when she’s offered a high-paying gig helping clear the clutter from the home of reclusive and eccentric painter Marva Meier Rios, Lucy grabs it. Armed with the organizing expertise she gained while writing her book, Things Are Not People, and fueled by a burning desire to get her life back on track, Lucy rolls up her sleeves to take on the mess that fills every room of Marva’s huge home. Lucy soon learns that the real challenge may be taking on Marva, who seems to love the objects in her home too much to let go of any of them.

While trying to stay on course toward a strict deadline—and with an ex-boyfriend back in the picture, a new romance on the scene, and her son’s rehab not going as planned—Lucy discovers that Marva isn’t just hoarding: she is also hiding a big secret. The two form an unlikely bond, as each learns from the other that there are those things in life we keep and those we need to let go—but it’s not always easy to know the difference.

Laugh-out-loud humor, heartfelt writing, relatable characters, and a charming premise all come together to make Objects of My Affection the next read for the fans of Jennifer Weiner, Emily Giffin, and Allison Winn Scotch.

©2012 Jill Smolinski (P)2012 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“A wonderfully written, heartfelt novel about what to keep and what to let go of as you move forward in your life.” (Claire Cook, best-selling author of Must Love Dogs)

“A hoarder and organizational expert clash in this light, amusing novel from Smolinski…A charmingly breezy tone marks this warm appraisal of our addiction to stuff.” ( Kirkus Reviews)

“I loved this deeply felt, bravely honest tale of a professional organizer who discovers just how messy life and love can be, but that everything truly does have a place. A treasure of a novel.” (Melissa Senate, author of The Love Goddess’ Cooking School)

Its OK

What did you love best about Objects of My Affection?

The Story

Who was your favorite character and why?

Maura

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

I have listened to Xe Sands many times and enjoyed it, but this time she was a little to whinny, it was a little annoying. She spoke everybody's voice Ok except the main character.

Wonderful !

This was book included in my membership and I can not express how much I enjoyed it. Different stories and loved the characters...this was worth the membership fee. Love the writing, love the narration!

Narrator

Nice surprise. I grabbed this book because of the narrator. Absolutely love listening to Xe Sands.

The vocal fry is too much

I had to delete this Audiobook an hour into the story. The vocal fry is too much to bear! Even when the reader changes from the female characters to the male characters, the vocal fry remains.

Story is interesting, not run of the mill twists.

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

It was ok. The performance was good, and the story interesting enough to keep me interested despite my want for more action. Would I recommend it -- probably to my mom but not my friends. The exception to that is if a friend was experiencing a story similar to the characters, then there may well be some enlightenment that is helpful.

What other book might you compare Objects of My Affection to and why?

n/a

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

the surprise of how the author took us far thru the book before disclosing that something that was indicated several times wasn't really as it seemed.

Did Objects of My Affection inspire you to do anything?

n/a

Narration Is AWFUL!!!!!!

The story is pretty good but it is almost impossible to get past the g$& awful narrator!!! The entire novel is read in a bored monotone. I’m too patient for my own good. The story is barely worth the painful narration.

Terriable narration but great story

I would have lived this if I were not for the narration. It was as if she didn't know how to read using inflection and her voice was monotone it would put you to sleep.

Easy listening

This book provided a nice story for free. A little bit predictable but flows nicely.

Great read.

I started listening and was not going to continue after chapter 1. I decided to continue to see if it would ensnare me and it did. This book was amazing and I am looking forward to listening to more books from this author.

Lovely Story

I recommend this book. I enjoyed all the characters, especially Marva. I kind of want to be like her when I grow up, even though the author made her seem a lot older than 65! The narrator took some getting used to, but really was a good fit for the timbre of this book. I will definitely look for other books by this author as well as the narrator,